Global Environmental & Occupational Health

RUSSIA:
Ufa Dioxin Research Program

The
city of Ufa in the Republic of Bashkortostan is one of the most heavily-contaminated
dioxin sites in the Russian Federation. The principal source of this
contamination are industrial discharges from the Khimprom chemical
plant that produced trichlorophenol from 1961 to 1987 and the herbicide
2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid from 1965-1967. During this time
the plant experienced reactor accidents that resulted in significant
dioxin exposures to workers and the general population. Two research
institutes in Ufa, the Scientific Institute for Occupational Medicine
and Environmental Health and the Environmental Research and Protection
Center, have been engaged in dioxin exposure assessment and health
studies for the past several years. We are developing the following
collaborative long-term research program with these institutes: 1)
integrated exposure assessment of population exposure (especially
pregnant women and children) to dioxin; 2) historical cohort study
of reproductive outcomes (particularly sex ratio) among Khimprom
workers; and 3) a prospective study of reproductive outcomes and
childhood development among 1,600 Ufa pregnant women with varying
degrees of dioxin exposure. Our Fogarty ITREOH grant will be used
for research training of Ufa scientists who will participate in this
research. We are in the process of applying for funding for the individual
research studies to USEPA, NIOSH, and NIEHS.

The prospective maternal cohort study will follow the design of the Family and
Children of Ukraine research program. We are planning to recruit 1,600 pregnant
women from 3 Ufa raions with varying degrees of dioxin contamination (2 exposed,
1 control), ascertain their reproductive outcomes, and follow the health and
development of their offspring. The study will collect data on the mother, the
father beginning in pregnancy and follow the children through age 7. The lead
Ukrainian scientists from the Family and Children of Ukraine program, who are
Fogarty Visiting Scientists, will assist us in providing technical support and
consultation to the Ufa institutes who will be carrying out this study. In addition,
staff from our Louise Hamilton Data Management Center in Kyiv will help establish
a data management center in Ufa in support of this study.